A Knox County Sheriff's Deputy is being credited with saving one of two men who accidentally drove their ATV into open water on a Warren pond.

According to the Maine Warden Service, 38-year-old Craig Dennison of Warren was driving his John Deere Gator 4x6 ATV at around 9:30 Saturday night, when the ATV drove into an area of open water about 100 yards from shore on Crawford Pond in Warren. Dennison and his passenger, 28-year-old Donald Holbrook of Warren, went into the icy water.

Local residents heard the men calling for help and called 911. Two members of the Knox County Sheriff's office, as well as a State Police trooper and game warden responded. Meanwhile, Dennison was able to get himself out of the water and onto the ice. Knox County Sergeant Arthur Smith fastened one end of his throw rope to the shore and tied himself with the other, jumped into the water, and held a struggling Holbrook upright until they could be pulled out of the pond.

Both men were transported to Pen Bay Hospital in Rockland, where Dennison was listed in stable condition. Holbrook was listed as stable but serious, and was transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

Wardens remind residents that the warmer temperatures are causing some hazardous conditions on the ice. Areas that are normally frozen this time of year, may not be now, and shouldn't be trusted without checking the thickness of the ice.

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